Chapter 8: Fire Fiend and Gold Fiend (Part 2)

The old man said, “There won’t be any remaining souls. With such intense fiendly energy here, unless they merge with it, no soul fragments will survive.”
Guo Shieru counted and said, “There are three altars, plus two completely shattered ones.”
The old man said, “Ignore those altars. Fly over there—I see an island… Hehe, an old man’s eyes are unmatched!” He pointed to a small island in the southeast—a floating metal island drifting constantly in the magma.
Soon, Guo Shieru’s altar arrived above the metal island. Looking down, the island resembled a palette in an oil painting, with colorful metals jumbled together. The old man said, “You collect the metals. I’ll gather the Fire Fiend and Gold Fiend. Hehe, we’re reaping a good harvest this time.”
Guo Shieru realized he didn’t recognize many of the metals on the island. Watching the old man conjure countless virtual talismans and focus on collecting the Fire Fiend and Gold Fiend, he held back from asking questions and instead sent out virtual chain talismans to collect metals from the island. After a while, he grew impatient. There were so many metals here, and collecting them this way was far too slow.
Moving the altar slightly away, Guo Shieru formed a giant golden hand. Without caring about the type of metal, he forcefully grabbed a large chunk from the island and put it into the altar. The noise was quite loud, prompting the old man to turn back and laugh. “That’s right. Remember, only natural gold is worth collecting; ignore the rest.”
Guo Shieru asked, “Is the space running out?”
The old man replied, “It’s fine. Keep grabbing. I’ll refine a new large space. Hehe, there’s never enough materials. Prepare whatever you’ll need in advance. You still have two others to oversee… Sigh, in the end, it’s still the old man who’s busiest.” Even amidst his tasks, he didn’t forget to complain.
After only five or six grabs, Guo Shieru moved to another island. Although that island also had plenty of natural gold, another island had even more. He had no time to dawdle—who knew what dangers lay ahead? He should collect the valuable items first and worry about the rest later.
Island after island, there were thousands of metal islands on the magma lake, with only one in ten containing natural gold. Guo Shieru searched slowly, grabbing any natural gold he found and putting it into the altar right away.

He calculated that it would take basically just two attempts to capture most of the natural gold, and quite a bit of other metals as well, all captured along with it. The Ancestral Master of Nanqiang was also busy collecting, using his own extraordinary methods—countless virtual talisman chains hung from the altar, sweeping across the islands. Any island they passed became spotless. Though he collected thoroughly, his speed was not as fast as Guo Shier’s. Guo Shier would make five or six attempts per island, or sometimes just two, before flying away without hesitation.

Three days later, the old man Shuai had already formed hundreds of Fire Fiend and Gold Fiend beads. He said, “Let’s go to the Fiend Sea above. The Fire Fiend and Gold Fiend here aren’t dense enough; that’s where they concentrate.”

Guo Shier replied, “There are still many islands… I haven’t gone to collect them…”

The old man Shuai said, “Natural gold is sufficient, but Fire Fiend and Gold Fiend are extremely rare. If we don’t collect them now, we might not get another chance.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Okay!” He activated the altar to fly upward, reaching the bottom of the Fiend Sea in an instant.

The old man Shuai said, “You can also collect Fire Fiend and Gold Fiend. Let’s do it together. The Fiend energy up there has already accumulated into a sea. The two of us should be able to collect quite a lot. Even if we can’t take it all, we should get as much as possible. Such things are hard to come by, and in the future, all three of you will need a great deal of Fiend energy.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Okay, let’s do it together.” He stood up. The old man Shuai emerged from the altar, showing most of his body. He couldn’t leave the altar; he had to remain connected to it to utilize part of his strength—this was the tragedy of being a sacrificial spirit. Fortunately, the old man Shuai didn’t care. He knew well that having a master like Guo Shier was sheer luck for him.

The two stood on the altar and began chanting spells, with countless virtual talismans shooting out. Guo Shier couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s so heavy!”

The old man Shuai said, “Use more force, otherwise it will be hard for you to retrieve them… Oh, if you feel you can’t hold on, collect them immediately—it’ll also speed things up.”

One after another, Fiend beads were collected—some Fire Fiend beads and some Gold Fiend beads. In just a short while, Guo Shier had gathered dozens of them. He said happily, “At this rate, in a day, I can collect thousands of Fiend beads!”

The old man Shuai’s movements were incredibly fast, and thanks to his familiarity with Fiend energy, his speed was at least twice that of Guo Shier. Smiling, he said, “I wonder how many years these Fire Fiend and Gold Fiend here have existed… Hehe, they’re all a bargain for us… Young man, joining the Guonan Clan’s war this time was truly a wise decision!”

Another three days passed, and the Ancestral Patriarch of Nanqiang continued his tireless searching and gathering. With the blessed defensive shield, he was no longer affected by the destructive forces. For him, this opportunity came only once, so he was patient and had no intention of leaving soon.

The destructive forces in the sea above had become thinner. Under Guo Shier and the old man Shuai’s ruthless plundering, a large amount of those destructive forces was condensed into beads. After three days, Guo Shier felt extremely exhausted. He kept casting spells, then retracting them, and casting the same spells again. His body wasn’t tired; it was mainly a mental torment. Repeating the same actions over and over was painful.

The old man Shuai seemed immune to fatigue and continued to collect quickly. Guo Shier watched with envy: Didn’t this man know what exhaustion was?

Could the old man Shuai get tired? He was a soul being and wouldn’t feel tired at all. Even before his downfall, he had been a master of altars. Such minor trials were nothing to him.

Guo Shier said, “Let’s take a break.” He sat down heavily, rubbed his temples hard, rubbed his face vigorously, and sighed, “I’m fucking exhausted…”

The old man Shuai sneered, “Lazy bug! Even I, who’m just helping out, haven’t said I’m tired. How dare you say you’re tired?”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Old man Shuai, you’re amazing. I can’t compare to you.”

The old man Shuai, unfazed by fatigue, kept casting spells and said, “Kid, professionals must seize every chance to train. Get up and keep working!”

Guo Shier slapped his own forehead and lamented, “Sigh… Alright, let’s go on! I’m going all in!”

A few hours passed. Guo Shier frowned and gritted his teeth as he cast spells. After more than ten hours, he continued casting spells with a grim expression. The old man Shuai remained calm, steadily casting spells and collecting the destructive force beads. He was like a well-oiled machine running at high speed. Guo Shier was incredibly impressed—this old man was truly formidable.

Roar!

Guo Shier’s hand trembled. He looked down and exclaimed in joy, “There’s a monster!”

The old man Shuai wondered, “A monster… Why are you so happy…?” Then he realized that this guy preferred fighting monsters rather than continuing the repetitive labor here. He shook his head and said, “You… See what kind of monster it is. Is it a fire-type mutated rune beast?”

Guo Shier was eager to fight something. The repetitive labor made him feel stifled, but when he saw what it was, he was shocked. He said, “No, it’s not a mutated rune beast… It’s… a Soul Beast? No, not a Soul Beast… What the hell is that?”

The handsome old man turned to look, his eyes filled with disbelief, and said, “Damn it… it’s a Soul Devouring Beast! How could there be a Soul Devouring Beast? Those things only exist in ancient battlefields… Oh, I get it. It must have evolved from the Spirit Beasts in those fallen altars!”
Guo Shier felt instinctively the power of the Soul Devouring Beast and said, “It seems there’s only one. Um, it has a slender shape and isn’t very large… just over ten meters long. It should be of the dragon lineage… Look, it’s heading toward Ancestor Nanqiang!”
The handsome old man said, “It seems to combine Fire Evil and Gold Evil. Damn, this is troublesome now.”
Guo Shier asked, “Troublesome? Is the Soul Devouring Beast that strong?”
The handsome old man replied, “The Soul Devouring Beast… of course it’s strong. A Soul Devouring Beast that has absorbed Evil Energy is far stronger than a Spirit Beast.” He explained further, “For example, a level-10 Spirit Beast is roughly on par in strength with a level-7 or level-8 Mutated Symbol Beast, but it can definitely’t defeat another level-10 Mutated Symbol Beast. A level-10 Soul Devouring Beast can not only kill a level-10 Mutated Symbol Beast but also fight against a level-12 one without falling at a disadvantage. It uses Evil Energy, allowing its strength to grow rapidly—mainly depending on how much Evil Energy it absorbs and how long it survives in it. In my judgment… this Soul Devouring Beast has been here for at least thousands of years… Thankfully it’s not a ten-thousand-year-old one. If it were, we’d have to retreat right away.”
Guo Shier asked in confusion, “Thousands of years? Um, can we hunt this Soul Devouring Beast?”
The handsome old man smiled bitterly and said, “Not yet. If I could refine the Ancient Xi Bi again using Evil Energy, especially its Spirit-Grasping Whiskers, then there might be a chance to capture it… But not now!”
Guo Shier’s eyes lit up, and he said, “We have plenty of time. Let’s withdraw first and come back when we’re ready.”
The handsome old man replied, “We probably can’t retreat for now. You need to rescue Ancestor Nanqiang first… Sigh, an ancestor from a fifth-tier altar is so weak… He has no chance to fight back against a Soul Devouring Beast!”
In truth, Ancestor Nanqiang wasn’t weak at all, but he was completely ignorant of Evil Energy and had no idea how powerful it was. As soon as they came into contact, the Soul Devouring Beast destroyed one of his sacrificial treasures, scaring him into fleeing immediately. Thanks to his caution, he avoided danger the moment he sensed something was wrong; otherwise, Guo Shier wouldn’t even have had a chance to intervene.
The handsome old man made a sarcastic remark before adding a compliment, “This guy fled quickly… Hmm, quite wise.”

The Soul Devouring Beast was incredibly fast, and its continuous teleportations left Ancestor Nanqiang with no chance to escape upward. He couldn’t help but shout, “Ancestor Guo, save me!”
Guo Shieru ordered, “Fly to the left! I’m coming! Hold it off for a while!”
The old man summoned two sacrificial treasures in quick succession—one was the Stability Pearl, and the other was an umbrella-shaped sacrificial treasure—both hovering above Guo Shieru’s head. He said, “I’ll take command. These two treasures aren’t afraid of the beast’s destructive power. Unfortunately, I can’t fully unleash their strength. Alright, go now.” He retracted his body, leaving only half of his head exposed.
Guo Shieru activated his altar and charged at the Soul Devouring Beast.
Ancestor Nanqiang was terrified and roared, “Be careful! This thing is extremely powerful. Don’t fight head-on! One of my sacrificial treasures has already been destroyed by it!”
The Soul Devouring Beast was astonishingly fast. As soon as Guo Shieru’s altar flew out, the beast appeared out of nowhere, followed by two red beams of energy. Guo Shieru quickly dodged.
Ancestor Nanqiang tried to come to his aid when he heard Guo Shieru shout, “Ancestor, upward!”
The Soul Devouring Beast’s attack missed, making it furious. It let out a roar and attacked again. Guo Shieru pointed and said, “Stabilize!” The beast was instantly frozen in midair. Ancestor Nanqiang was overjoyed and shouted, “Kill it!”
But Guo Shieru roared, “Run!”